Embers Ad Infinitum

Long Yuehong didn’t say anything else and went to the cathedral’s public bathroom with Shang Jianyao.

As Shang Jianyao wanted to do a number 2 in the process, Long Yuehong didn’t want to wait in the bathroom. Therefore, he came to the door, took in the cold wind that wafted over from the other side of the corridor, and looked at the plants outside the window.

The night was so quiet.

As he scanned the area, he suddenly saw a window slowly open. A figure quietly flipped into the corridor from the outside.

Long Yuehong’s heart tightened as he drew his Ice Moss pistol.

With the help of the cold and bright moonlight, he quickly saw the intruder’s appearance.

The intruder was only 1.6 meters tall. His blond hair clung limply over his head, and his green eyes were bright and spirited. He was a boy of about 15 to 16 years of age.

Viel… Long Yuehong recognized the hide-and-seek champion.

Viel looked at Long Yuehong at almost the same time and smiled innocently. “Do you outsiders have the custom of sleeping outside a bathroom?”

Long Yuehong always had a good temper. He ignored the mockery in the other party’s words and simply explained, “I’m waiting for someone.”

“The fellow in the monkey mask?” Viel walked toward the public bathroom.

“Yes.” Long Yuehong nodded frankly.

Viel looked at him for a few seconds before suddenly smiling. “Do you hate that fellow? He’s harsh with his words and tall.”

Long Yuehong didn’t expect the other party to ask so directly. He stammered, “H-he’s actually a nice guy. He doesn’t mean it. Sometimes, he deliberately mocks you to agitate you and give you the motivation to improve. Sometimes, he’s just pointing out your flaws and giving you suggestions that he finds very good. This is all for your own good.”

As Long Yuehong spoke, he gradually became eloquent. “He never really discriminates against anyone. He even believes that Subhumans can be befriended.”

Viel frowned. “Don’t you have a temper?”

Long Yuehong thought for a moment before saying, “This depends on the situation. I can’t be angry about everything. I’m trying my best to change. If I don’t like certain methods, I’ll just say it.”

He paused and laughed self-deprecatingly. “I’ve always been mediocre. I’m only 1.75 meters tall after g… Uh… I’m considered average among the males in the race. I’m not smart enough, and my grades are only average. In the past, I always had a slight inferiority complex. I felt that I had nothing comparable to the people around me. Even luck didn’t stand on my side, and I was often secretly sad and angry. But now, I’ve learned one thing. First, I have to compare myself with myself. As long as I’m stronger than myself from yesterday, it’s worth being happy and proud.”

Long Yuehong still didn’t know the Redstone townsfolk’s attitude toward genetic enhancement, so he rationally hid the corresponding content.

Viel listened quietly and fell silent for a moment. “You’re really a disgustingly good person.”

With that said, he took a few steps to the side and used the window frame to crawl into the ventilation duct.

“Aren’t you sleeping?” Long Yuehong was a little curious.

Viel stuck his head out of the ventilation duct and smiled. “This world is very dangerous; there are many people who will harm you. I can’t let others know where I rest.”

Without waiting for Long Yuehong’s response, he rubbed his blond hair and bragged, “The ventilation duct system is another world. When you use it to crawl to different places and see the situation in different rooms, you will discover many interesting things. This is something you usually don’t see…”

As Viel spoke, he frowned and made a face behind Long Yuehong. He then crawled back into the ventilation duct and quickly left the area.

Long Yuehong snapped to his senses and turned around. He realized that Shang Jianyao—who was wearing a monkey mask—had come out at some point in time and was standing at the public bathroom’s entrance.

“I thought for a moment. Didn’t he just describe a peeping tom?” Shang Jianyao seriously evaluated the words Viel said before leaving.

Long Yuehong was stunned. “When did you come out?”

Shang Jianyao didn’t answer and sincerely suggested, “You can eat more every meal.”

“Why?” Long Yuehong asked in confusion.

Shang Jianyao explained, “This way, you can get heavier and stronger than yesterday every day.”

…How much did this fellow hear? The corners of Long Yuehong’s mouth twitched, and he was speechless.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao rubbed his stomach. “I wasn’t done with my dump just now. I’ll continue.”

Long Yuehong was first stunned and amused before he understood what was going on. He sensed that someone had flipped into the cathedral from the outside, so he quickly ended and came out to meet me to fight alongside me?

Long Yuehong immediately felt the warmth from the word ‘companion.’

After they were done at the bathroom, the two of them returned to the room where the Old Task Force was.

They took turns guarding during the night and sleeping.

…

In the southeast area of the city ruin, on the top of a tall building near the edge.

This place had electric lines and had been maintained. It had lights and an elevator. It was one of the watchtowers that Han Wanghuo had meticulously built after becoming sheriff.

Scheler was of the Red River heritage. His hair was golden brown and shaved very short. He was young, only in his twenties. However, he had experienced many battles and wasn’t a fledgling that had never seen the world.

At this moment, he carried an automatic rifle and night-vision binoculars. He observed the fields and distant hills—which had long been abandoned—beyond the city.

Although Redstone Collection was only on the edge of the lake to the west and was the easiest for the merfolk to attack, Han Wanghuo didn’t ignore the other areas.

North of the Vigilance Church was another line of defense against the mountain monsters in the mountain range. On the other edges of the city ruin was a watchtower used to prevent any accidents.

The Lake of Wrath was very large. With the merfolk’s characteristics, they could easily reach the shore from elsewhere and circle around to attack.

As he observed, Scheler turned his head to look at his two companions not far away.

They were all members of the town guard. One was an Ashlander named Tan Tianen, and the other was a mixed-blood named Gaudi. At this moment, they were guarding different directions with night-vision binoculars.

This was a deliberate arrangement by Sheriff Han Wanghuo. He averaged the assignment of the Ashlanders, Red River people, and mixed-race members to each team. First, he hoped that they could form friendships and develop trust in each other while fighting against foreign enemies together. Second, he wanted them to supervise each other and prevent any party from taking the opportunity to do something nasty.

With a high nose, deep eyes, black hair, and brown eyes, Gaudi smiled and started the conversation when he saw Scheler looking at him. “The Ruin Hunters I previously led into town are pretty good at causing trouble. They seem to have figured out what happened to Helvig’s firearms robbery.”

Gaudi spoke in the Red River language.

Scheler frowned and said, “That’s only Baz’s accusation.”

Harbinger Song He didn’t forbid the cathedral guards from spreading Baz’s accusation, and the town guards were organized together not to hide. Therefore, many of them heard the truth about the firearms robbery in the evening.

Tan Tianen—who was silently listening to their conversation—looked into the distance and interrupted, “Don’t you know what kind of people Helvig and Anhebus are?”

He deliberately spoke in Ashlandic, not caring if Scheler understood him.

The mixed-blood Gaudi sighed and was momentarily at a loss for words.

At this moment, Scheler’s voice suddenly became loud. “Something’s wrong!”

Gaudi and Tan Tianen forgot the conversation. They held their night-vision binoculars and looked at the area under Scheler’s surveillance.

At the intersection of hills and farmland, a group of people appeared from the darkness under the dim moonlight and approached the city district.

Some of them were in cars, some were pushing carts, and some were walking. There seemed to be a lot of them.

The moonlight brightened a little as Scheler saw the exact situation.

Some of these humanoid creatures were covered in grayish-black scales, and their eyes protruded severely. They were like fish that had grown legs and had come ashore. Some had blue skin and were wrapped in animal skin.

They carried submachine guns, assault rifles, and other weapons. Some carried cannons, scaffolds, ammunition, and other things. Some pushed artillery, and some sat in armored vehicles like a group of ghosts in the deep night.

Merfolk and mountain monsters!

“Inform Captain Han!” Gaudi blurted out when he saw this scene.

Scheler and Tan Tianen remained silent and didn’t answer him.

They were the only team in this area. Once an alarm was sounded, the enemy would immediately lock onto their location.

After a few seconds, Scheler and Tan Tianen replied at the same time. “Alright!”

After they exchanged looks, they watched Gaudi take out the military alarm that had been indented from United Industries.

“Woo!”

“Woo!”

“Woo!”

A sharp, ear-piercing sound echoed from the top of the building and spread in all directions.

The merfolk and mountain monsters—who were lurking in the darkness—stopped and looked over.

They quickly assigned a group of people to push the artillery forward or set up light mortars.

After setting off the alarm, Gaudi, Scheler, and Tan Tianen began to evacuate the rooftop.

Boom! Boom!

The artillery spewed out crimson light.

…

With the alarm’s sharp blaring, the three sleeping Old Task Force members instantly woke up.

Bai Chen—who was on night duty—calmly said, “It’s coming from the southeast. It should be an enemy attack.”

“The merfolk and mountain monsters have attacked?” Jiang Baimian thoughtfully straightened her clothes.

In such an environment, they slept in uniform.

Bai Chen didn’t dare give an affirmative answer. “It should be. They chose to bypass the defense line.”

“Team Leader, what should we do? Should we stay in the cathedral or return to the hotel camp?” Although this was Long Yuehong’s first time experiencing a large-scale battle, he was forged in the crucible of war during the chaos in Weed City.

Before Jiang Baimian could answer, Shang Jianyao suggested solemnly, “Didn’t we say that we are ‘selling’ half of the firearms and the accumulated supplies to the town guards? Now’s the time.”

Huh? Long Yuehong was a little surprised.

Jiang Baimian then looked at Shang Jianyao and stared at him for more than ten seconds.

In the silence, Jiang Baimian retracted her gaze and smiled. “Since we’ve talked about it, let’s do it. Ask Harbinger Song first and figure out where to find Han Wanghuo and the town guards.”

Just as she said that, continuous salvo sounded from the same direction.

Boom! Boom!